FIGHT ERUPTS OVER DOCTOR-REHAB BILL

Critics say confidential, voluntary program would not go far enough

San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez says she has a bill that is all about making sure drug-addicted doctors get help, but some critics suspect she may have an underlying political motive connected to a looming election battle between physicians and trial lawyers.

The Democrat’s bill sailing through the Legislature would establish a confidential program for doctors who voluntarily seek treatment for alcohol abuse, drug addiction and other behavioral problems.

Without the promise of anonymity, Gonzalez said, doctors will choose to stay cloaked, endangering patients and the public. Critics contend the measure is too weak and could undermine tougher regulations in an initiative proposed for the November ballot.

The initiative is the product of the Consumer Attorneys of California, mostly trial lawyers, and their consumer allies who want to lift the long-entrenched $250,000 cap on certain medical malpractice claims against physicians. They say a more generous cap is needed given inflation and the higher costs associated with recovery from a botched operation or other serious mistakes.

To woo voters, initiative backers inserted what critics call a “sweetener” that requires random drug testing of physicians, among other provisions. Leaders of the initiative campaign say Gonzalez’s legislation, sponsored by the California Medical Association, was purposely crafted to mute their contention that the state and the profession are doing little to protect patients and the public.

“They want to have an argument that the medical profession is dealing with drunk and high doctors when in fact they haven’t been,” said Jaimie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.

Gonzalez denies having an ulterior motive, saying her bill is only designed to offer doctors a path to treatment.

“This has become a food fight between the trial lawyers and the doctors. I want no part of it,” she said in an interview.

Gonzalez dived into the fight quickly. On April 23 she stripped one of her own dormant, innocuous bills and inserted language to create the treatment program. The next week the Service Employees International Union, one of her labor allies, issued a blistering attack on the proposed ballot initiative. The next day, April 29, the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee unanimously passed the legislation.

She said she has long supported maintaining the cap on pain and suffering damages and opposes the initiative.

Gonzalez, who is running for re-election unopposed, has support from doctors and their insurers. Campaign contributions have come in from the California Medical Association; Californians Allied for Patient Protection, which opposes the initiative; the Napa-based Doctors Company, which is a physician-owned insurer against medical malpractice claims; and also from hospitals and health maintenance organizations.

But Gonzalez notes that trial lawyers, who oppose the bill and back the initiative, have also donated to previous campaigns. They gave $4,100 last year.

“I’ve spent the bulk of my career promoting health and safety for people who work for a living, even before I became an elected official. It shouldn’t come as a shock to know that I think doctors should have access to a confidential wellness program that other licensed medical workers enjoy in California,” she said.